1st COSCOM total asset visibility in Iraq

Army Logistician,  March-April, 2006  by Mark W. Akin

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Total asset visibility (TAV) in Iraq is within reach. The current TAV structure focuses on tagging individual pieces of cargo and telling the user the last known location of a piece of cargo. However, the system does not tell the user where that cargo is right now, who has it and where it is going, or who signs for it once it is received. An effective TAV and its component in-transit visibility (ITV) system must be able to answer all of those questions.

With the assistance of the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-4, Department of the Army, the 1st Corps Support Command (COSCOM) was able to address many of these TAV/ITV issues by integrating the Deployment Asset Visibility System (DAVS) into its TAV/ITV architecture. The integration of DAVS (a commercial off-the-shelf technology) into a TAV/ITV architecture is not a new idea; the effort to do so began more than 2 years ago and has been advocated by three consecutive COSCOM commanders supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Although DAVS addresses many of the TAV shortfalls encountered by the 1st COSCOM, it may not be the Army's final solution for achieving TAV within a theater. What is important to note now is the TAV functionality that DAVS brought to the 1st COSCOM and how it was used in support of OIF 04-06.

What Is the Current TAV Process for OIF?

Currently, cargo coming from depots in the continental United States (CONUS) is tagged with a military shipping label (MSL) at the depot and aggregated for shipment by routing identifier code (RIC). A RIC designates the location of the supply support activity (SSA) that will service the cargo when it arrives. When the cargo is placed on RIC pure pallets [pallets going only to one RIC], it receives a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag that identifies all items down to the national stock number level (level 6 detail). When the cargo is shipped, it is tracked by its transportation control number (TCN) and RFID tag.

If the cargo moves by air, the Air Force's Global Air Transportation Execution System (GATES) tells the user what TCNs and RFID tags are on every aircraft. When the aircraft lands in Kuwait or Iraq, a fixed-site RFID interrogator reads the tag on the cargo. If the cargo goes to the theater distribution center (TDC) in Kuwait, it is aggregated with other loads destined for the same RIC and put on a truck for onward movement to the unit. Once the cargo arrives at the unit's supporting SSA, it is read by the SSA's fixed-site interrogator and repalletized into unit LOGPAC (logistics package) pushes or picked up by the unit at the SSA.

What Are the Shortfalls in TAV?

The current TAV process sounds simple, but it can result in loss of visibility of cargo en route to the warfighter. There are several reasons for this loss.

Lack of standards for tagging and labeling cargo. While CONUS depots generally do a good job of labeling and tagging all shipments, SSAs at the tactical level do not. Training tactical SSAs and enforcing standards play a large role in maintaining TAV.

Lack of common visibility in tracking cargo movements. TAV must include a system to make all movements in the corps battlespace visible to the movement control teams (MCTs) at the division and corps levels. That currently is not the case in Iraq. The COSCOM tracks movements using the Movement Tracking System (MTS), which feeds the Battle Command Sustainment Support System (BCS3). That system currently operates on the Unclassified but Sensitive Internet Protocol Router Network (NIPRNet). Divisions in the XVIII Airborne Corps track movements using the Blue Force Tracker system, which operates on the Secure Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet). The result is that no one ever has a true picture of what is moving on the battlefield.

Lack of connectivity between critical ITV systems. At present, the automated architecture at transportation hubs moving cargo into Iraq consists of--

* Fixed-site interrogators, which feed ITV data to the U.S. Army Europe ITV server to update information on the flow of shipments.

* The Transportation Coordinators' Automated Information for Movement System II and TAV/ITV Processing Station (TC--AIMS II/TIPS), which is used to create RFID tags.

* BCS3, which provides a capability for tracking convoys. The void in the system is the lack of connectivity needed to--

* Produce and send a cargo manifest to the BCS3 server so that it can be linked to an ITV device for tracking.

* Send a manifest to a gaining activity using a Transportation Control and Movement Document (TCMD).

* Create and read a "trip ticket" that MCTs can use to identify convoys. MCTs identify convoys by reading a 2D barcode containing convoy information to pinpoint the convoy's last known location or track status en route. [A "2D" barcode uses a grid of square cells of information rather than a bar of information. The latter is a "1D" barcode.]

Lack of ITV flexibility to change cargo carriers while en route. The ITV system must be able to adjust to changing conditions on the battlefield by redirecting convoys or modifying their schedules. An example would be a convoy that comes across an improvised explosive device. A module is needed within BCS3 that would allow MCTs to transmit instantly to all stations and convoys where the delay has occurred. This would let all units on the route know that a convoy is delayed, permit follow-on convoys to be rerouted, and allow MCTs to manage convoy routes.